Long-time BART Board of Director Thomas Blalock announced Thursday that he will not run for re-election to his Tri-Cities seat.
Blalock, who was first elected to the board in 1994, made the announcement during a BART board meeting, addressing the board from the lectern.
“I’ve been searching my mind for about a year now as to whether to run for re-election and I have concluded that will not run for re-election this year. And I wanted to tell you folks first,” Blalock told boardmembers.
During his time, BART ridership has increased. Blalock’s major accomplishment though is the construction of Fremont’s Warm Springs station.
Rumors that Blalock may retire had increased over the past few months. Last month Blalock publicly praised Anu Natarajan, a former Fremont councilmember, who had already announced her candidacy for his seat.
ebcitizen.com 
Blalock while a really nice man, has done nothing for those of us that ride BART daily. He has stayed true to his colleagues. Staying true has given us a miserable strike. Poor maintenance. Increased violence. Over compensated staff. Runaway overtime. Poor planning overall. Increased friction with the union. Poor if non-existent relations with the BART ridership in general. No real oversight from the users. Deficient accountability to staff and to the directors. In short, it is good that Thomas Blalock is leaving. Any replacement to him must address these issues. No one has yet heard much from Anu Naturajan. She is part of the Fremont old guard as well.
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